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In the treatment of lung cancer, an accurate estimation of patient clinical outcome is essential for choosing an appropriate course of therapy. It is important to develop a prognostic stratification model which combines clinical, pathological and demographic factors for individualized clinical decision making.

The Thoracic Oncology Program Database Project was created to serve as a comprehensive, verified, and accessible repository for well-annotated cancer specimens and clinical data to be available to researchers within the Thoracic Oncology Research Program. This database also captures a large volume of genomic and proteomic data obtained from various tumor tissue studies. A team of clinical and basic science researchers, a biostatistician, and a bioinformatics expert was convened to design the database. Variables of interest were clearly defined and their descriptions were written within a standard operating manual to ensure consistency of data annotation. Using a protocol for prospective tissue banking and another protocol for retrospective banking, tumor and normal tissue samples from patients consented to these protocols were collected. Clinical information such as demographics, cancer characterization, and treatment plans for these patients were abstracted and entered into an Access database. Proteomic and genomic data have been included in the database and have been linked to clinical information for patients described within the database. The data from each table were linked using the relationships function in Microsoft Access to allow the database manager to connect clinical and laboratory information during a query. The queried data can then be exported for statistical analysis and hypothesis generation.

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The NeuroStar TMS Device: Conducting the FDA Approved Protocol for Treatment of Depression

The Neuronetics NeuroStar Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) System is a class II medical device that produces brief duration, pulsed magnetic fields. These rapidly alternating fields induce electrical currents within localized, targeted regions of the cortex which are associated with various physiological and functional brain changes.1,2,3
In 2007, O'Reardon et al., utilizing the NeuroStar device, published the results of an industry-sponsored, multisite, randomized, sham-stimulation controlled clinical trial in which 301 patients with major depression, who had previously failed to respond to at least one adequate antidepressant treatment trial, underwent either active or sham TMS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). The patients, who were medication-free at the time of the study, received TMS five times per week over 4-6 weeks.4
The results demonstrated that a sub-population of patients (those who were relatively less resistant to medication, having failed not more than two good pharmacologic trials) showed a statistically significant improvement on the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Scale (MADRS), the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD), and various other outcome measures. In October 2008, supported by these and other similar results5,6,7, Neuronetics obtained the first and only Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the clinical treatment of a specific form of medication-refractory depression using a TMS Therapy device (FDA approval K061053).
In this paper, we will explore the specified FDA approved NeuroStar depression treatment protocol (to be administered only under prescription and by a licensed medical profession in either an in- or outpatient setting).

Institutions: University Hospitals Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, University Hospitals Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) distinguishes itself by necessitating more rigid patient immobilization, accounting for respiratory motion, intricate treatment planning, on-board imaging, and reduced number of ablative radiation doses to cancer targets usually refractory to chemotherapy and conventional radiation. Steep SBRT radiation dose drop-off permits narrow 'pencil beam' treatment fields to be used for ablative radiation treatment condensed into 1 to 3 treatments.
Treating physicians must appreciate that SBRT comes at a bigger danger of normal tissue injury and chance of geographic tumor miss. Both must be tackled by immobilization of cancer targets and by high-precision treatment delivery. Cancer target immobilization has been achieved through use of indexed customized Styrofoam casts, evacuated bean bags, or body-fix molds with patient-independent abdominal compression.1-3 Intrafraction motion of cancer targets due to breathing now can be reduced by patient-responsive breath hold techniques,4 patient mouthpiece active breathing coordination,5 respiration-correlated computed tomography,6 or image-guided tracking of fiducials implanted within and around a moving tumor.7-9 The Cyberknife system (Accuray [Sunnyvale, CA]) utilizes a radiation linear accelerator mounted on a industrial robotic arm that accurately follows patient respiratory motion by a camera-tracked set of light-emitting diodes (LED) impregnated on a vest fitted to a patient.10 Substantial reductions in radiation therapy margins can be achieved by motion tracking, ultimately rendering a smaller planning target volumes that are irradiated with submillimeter accuracy.11-13
Cancer targets treated by SBRT are irradiated by converging, tightly collimated beams. Resultant radiation dose to cancer target volume histograms have a more pronounced radiation "shoulder" indicating high percentage target coverage and a small high-dose radiation "tail." Thus, increased target conformality comes at the expense of decreased dose uniformity in the SBRT cancer target. This may have implications for both subsequent tumor control in the SBRT target and normal tissue tolerance of organs at-risk. Due to the sharp dose falloff in SBRT, the possibility of occult disease escaping ablative radiation dose occurs when cancer targets are not fully recognized and inadequate SBRT dose margins are applied. Clinical target volume (CTV) expansion by 0.5 cm, resulting in a larger planning target volume (PTV), is associated with increased target control without undue normal tissue injury.7,8 Further reduction in the probability of geographic miss may be achieved by incorporation of 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET).8 Use of 18F-FDG PET/CT in SBRT treatment planning is only the beginning of attempts to discover new imaging target molecular signatures for gynecologic cancers.

Institutions: University of New South Wales , University of New South Wales , University of New South Wales .

Chemotherapy-induced neurotoxicity is a serious consequence of cancer treatment, which occurs with some of the most commonly used chemotherapies1,2. Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy produces symptoms of numbness and paraesthesia in the limbs and may progress to difficulties with fine motor skills and walking, leading to functional impairment. In addition to producing troubling symptoms, chemotherapy-induced neuropathy may limit treatment success leading to dose reduction or early cessation of treatment. Neuropathic symptoms may persist long-term, leaving permanent nerve damage in patients with an otherwise good prognosis3. As chemotherapy is utilised more often as a preventative measure, and survival rates increase, the importance of long-lasting and significant neurotoxicity will increase.
There are no established neuroprotective or treatment options and a lack of sensitive assessment methods. Appropriate assessment of neurotoxicity will be critical as a prognostic factor and as suitable endpoints for future trials of neuroprotective agents. Current methods to assess the severity of chemotherapy-induced neuropathy utilise clinician-based grading scales which have been demonstrated to lack sensitivity to change and inter-observer objectivity4. Conventional nerve conduction studies provide information about compound action potential amplitude and conduction velocity, which are relatively non-specific measures and do not provide insight into ion channel function or resting membrane potential. Accordingly, prior studies have demonstrated that conventional nerve conduction studies are not sensitive to early change in chemotherapy-induced neurotoxicity4-6. In comparison, nerve excitability studies utilize threshold tracking techniques which have been developed to enable assessment of ion channels, pumps and exchangers in vivo in large myelinated human axons7-9.
Nerve excitability techniques have been established as a tool to examine the development and severity of chemotherapy-induced neurotoxicity10-13. Comprising a number of excitability parameters, nerve excitability studies can be used to assess acute neurotoxicity arising immediately following infusion and the development of chronic, cumulative neurotoxicity. Nerve excitability techniques are feasible in the clinical setting, with each test requiring only 5 -10 minutes to complete. Nerve excitability equipment is readily commercially available, and a portable system has been devised so that patients can be tested in situ in the infusion centre setting. In addition, these techniques can be adapted for use in multiple chemotherapies.
In patients treated with the chemotherapy oxaliplatin, primarily utilised for colorectal cancer, nerve excitability techniques provide a method to identify patients at-risk for neurotoxicity prior to the onset of chronic neuropathy. Nerve excitability studies have revealed the development of an acute Na+ channelopathy in motor and sensory axons10-13. Importantly, patients who demonstrated changes in excitability in early treatment were subsequently more likely to develop moderate to severe neurotoxicity11. However, across treatment, striking longitudinal changes were identified only in sensory axons which were able to predict clinical neurological outcome in 80% of patients10. These changes demonstrated a different pattern to those seen acutely following oxaliplatin infusion, and most likely reflect the development of significant axonal damage and membrane potential change in sensory nerves which develops longitudinally during oxaliplatin treatment10. Significant abnormalities developed during early treatment, prior to any reduction in conventional measures of nerve function, suggesting that excitability parameters may provide a sensitive biomarker.

Institutions: Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, University of Ljubljana.

Electrochemotherapy is a combined use of certain chemotherapeutic drugs and electric pulses applied to the treated tumour nodule. Local application of electric pulses to the tumour increases drug delivery into cells, specifically at the site of electric pulse application. Drug uptake by delivery of electric pulses is increased for only those chemotherapeutic drugs whose transport through the plasma membrane is impeded. Among many drugs that have been tested so far, bleomycin and cisplatin found their way from preclinical testing to clinical use. Clinical data collected within a number of clinical studies indicate that approximately 80% of the treated cutaneous and subcutaneous tumour nodules of different malignancies are in an objective response, from these, approximately 70% in complete response after a single application of electrochemotherapy. Usually only one treatment is needed, however, electrochemotherapy can be repeated several times every few weeks with equal effectiveness each time. The treatment results in an effective eradication of the treated nodules, with a good cosmetic effect without tissue scarring.

The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is the main diagnostic biomarker for prostate cancer in clinical use, but it lacks specificity and sensitivity, particularly in low dosage values1​​. ‘How to use PSA' remains a current issue, either for diagnosis as a gray zone corresponding to a concentration in serum of 2.5-10 ng/ml which does not allow a clear differentiation to be made between cancer and noncancer2 or for patient follow-up as analysis of post-operative PSA kinetic parameters can pose considerable challenges for their practical application3,4. Alternatively, noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) are emerging as key molecules in human cancer, with the potential to serve as novel markers of disease, e.g. PCA3 in prostate cancer5,6 and to reveal uncharacterized aspects of tumor biology. Moreover, data from the ENCODE project published in 2012 showed that different RNA types cover about 62% of the genome. It also appears that the amount of transcriptional regulatory motifs is at least 4.5x higher than the one corresponding to protein-coding exons. Thus, long terminal repeats (LTRs) of human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) constitute a wide range of putative/candidate transcriptional regulatory sequences, as it is their primary function in infectious retroviruses. HERVs, which are spread throughout the human genome, originate from ancestral and independent infections within the germ line, followed by copy-paste propagation processes and leading to multicopy families occupying 8% of the human genome (note that exons span 2% of our genome). Some HERV loci still express proteins that have been associated with several pathologies including cancer7-10. We have designed a high-density microarray, in Affymetrix format, aiming to optimally characterize individual HERV loci expression, in order to better understand whether they can be active, if they drive ncRNA transcription or modulate coding gene expression. This tool has been applied in the prostate cancer field (Figure 1).

Brain tumors are typically comprised of morphologically diverse cells that express a variety of neural lineage markers. Only a relatively small fraction of cells in the tumor with stem cell properties, termed brain tumor initiating cells (BTICs), possess an ability to differentiate along multiple lineages, self-renew, and initiate tumors in vivo. We applied culture conditions originally used for normal neural stem cells (NSCs) to a variety of human brain tumors and found that this culture method specifically selects for stem-like populations. Serum-free medium (NSC) allows for the maintenance of an undifferentiated stem cell state, and the addition of bFGF and EGF allows for the proliferation of multi-potent, self-renewing, and expandable tumorspheres.
To further characterize each tumor's BTIC population, we evaluate cell surface markers by flow cytometry. We may also sort populations of interest for more specific characterization. Self-renewal assays are performed on single BTICs sorted into 96 well plates; the formation of tumorspheres following incubation at 37 °C indicates the presence of a stem or progenitor cell. Multiple cell numbers of a particular population can also be sorted in different wells for limiting dilution analysis, to analyze self-renewal capacity. We can also study differential gene expression within a particular cell population by using single cell RT-PCR.
The following protocols describe our procedures for the dissociation and culturing of primary human samples to enrich for BTIC populations, as well as the dissociation of tumorspheres. Also included are protocols for staining for flow cytometry analysis or sorting, self-renewal assays, and single cell RT-PCR.

There is an ongoing search for alternative animal models in research of respiratory medicine. Depending on the goal of the research, large animals as models of pulmonary disease often resemble the situation of the human lung much better than mice do. Working with large animals also offers the opportunity to sample the same animal repeatedly over a certain course of time, which allows long-term studies without sacrificing the animals.
The aim was to establish in vivo sampling methods for the use in a bovine model of a respiratory Chlamydia psittaci infection. Sampling should be performed at various time points in each animal during the study, and the samples should be suitable to study the host response, as well as the pathogen under experimental conditions.
Bronchoscopy is a valuable diagnostic tool in human and veterinary medicine. It is a safe and minimally invasive procedure. This article describes the intrabronchial inoculation of calves as well as sampling methods for the lower respiratory tract. Videoendoscopic, intrabronchial inoculation leads to very consistent clinical and pathological findings in all inoculated animals and is, therefore, well-suited for use in models of infectious lung disease. The sampling methods described are bronchoalveolar lavage, bronchial brushing and transbronchial lung biopsy. All of these are valuable diagnostic tools in human medicine and could be adapted for experimental purposes to calves aged 6-8 weeks. The samples obtained were suitable for both pathogen detection and characterization of the severity of lung inflammation in the host.

Mucosal surfaces serve as protective barriers against pathogenic organisms. Innate immune responses are activated upon sensing pathogen leading to the infiltration of tissues with migrating inflammatory cells, primarily neutrophils. This process has the potential to be destructive to tissues if excessive or held in an unresolved state. Cocultured in vitro models can be utilized to study the unique molecular mechanisms involved in pathogen induced neutrophil trans-epithelial migration. This type of model provides versatility in experimental design with opportunity for controlled manipulation of the pathogen, epithelial barrier, or neutrophil. Pathogenic infection of the apical surface of polarized epithelial monolayers grown on permeable transwell filters instigates physiologically relevant basolateral to apical trans-epithelial migration of neutrophils applied to the basolateral surface. The in vitro model described herein demonstrates the multiple steps necessary for demonstrating neutrophil migration across a polarized lung epithelial monolayer that has been infected with pathogenic P. aeruginosa (PAO1). Seeding and culturing of permeable transwells with human derived lung epithelial cells is described, along with isolation of neutrophils from whole human blood and culturing of PAO1 and nonpathogenic K12 E. coli (MC1000). The emigrational process and quantitative analysis of successfully migrated neutrophils that have been mobilized in response to pathogenic infection is shown with representative data, including positive and negative controls. This in vitro model system can be manipulated and applied to other mucosal surfaces. Inflammatory responses that involve excessive neutrophil infiltration can be destructive to host tissues and can occur in the absence of pathogenic infections. A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms that promote neutrophil trans-epithelial migration through experimental manipulation of the in vitro coculture assay system described herein has significant potential to identify novel therapeutic targets for a range of mucosal infectious as well as inflammatory diseases.

Morphologic heterogeneity within an individual tumor is well-recognized by histopathologists in surgical practice. While this often takes the form of areas of distinct differentiation into recognized histological subtypes, or different pathological grade, often there are more subtle differences in phenotype which defy accurate classification (Figure 1). Ultimately, since morphology is dictated by the underlying molecular phenotype, areas with visible differences are likely to be accompanied by differences in the expression of proteins which orchestrate cellular function and behavior, and therefore, appearance. The significance of visible and invisible (molecular) heterogeneity for prognosis is unknown, but recent evidence suggests that, at least at the genetic level, heterogeneity exists in the primary tumor1,2, and some of these sub-clones give rise to metastatic (and therefore lethal) disease.
Moreover, some proteins are measured as biomarkers because they are the targets of therapy (for instance ER and HER2 for tamoxifen and trastuzumab (Herceptin), respectively). If these proteins show variable expression within a tumor then therapeutic responses may also be variable. The widely used histopathologic scoring schemes for immunohistochemistry either ignore, or numerically homogenize the quantification of protein expression. Similarly, in destructive techniques, where the tumor samples are homogenized (such as gene expression profiling), quantitative information can be elucidated, but spatial information is lost. Genetic heterogeneity mapping approaches in pancreatic cancer have relied either on generation of a single cell suspension3, or on macrodissection4. A recent study has used quantum dots in order to map morphologic and molecular heterogeneity in prostate cancer tissue5, providing proof of principle that morphology and molecular mapping is feasible, but falling short of quantifying the heterogeneity. Since immunohistochemistry is, at best, only semi-quantitative and subject to intra- and inter-observer bias, more sensitive and quantitative methodologies are required in order to accurately map and quantify tissue heterogeneity in situ.
We have developed and applied an experimental and statistical methodology in order to systematically quantify the heterogeneity of protein expression in whole tissue sections of tumors, based on the Automated QUantitative Analysis (AQUA) system6. Tissue sections are labeled with specific antibodies directed against cytokeratins and targets of interest, coupled to fluorophore-labeled secondary antibodies. Slides are imaged using a whole-slide fluorescence scanner. Images are subdivided into hundreds to thousands of tiles, and each tile is then assigned an AQUA score which is a measure of protein concentration within the epithelial (tumor) component of the tissue. Heatmaps are generated to represent tissue expression of the proteins and a heterogeneity score assigned, using a statistical measure of heterogeneity originally used in ecology, based on the Simpson's biodiversity index7.
To date there have been no attempts to systematically map and quantify this variability in tandem with protein expression, in histological preparations. Here, we illustrate the first use of the method applied to ER and HER2 biomarker expression in ovarian cancer. Using this method paves the way for analyzing heterogeneity as an independent variable in studies of biomarker expression in translational studies, in order to establish the significance of heterogeneity in prognosis and prediction of responses to therapy.

Institutions: University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Percutaneous thermal ablation is an emerging treatment option for many tumors of the abdomen not amenable to conventional treatments. During a thermal ablation procedure, a thin applicator is guided into the target tumor under imaging guidance. Energy is then applied to the tissue until temperatures rise to cytotoxic levels (50-60 °C). Various energy sources are available to heat biological tissues, including radiofrequency (RF) electrical current, microwaves, laser light and ultrasonic waves. Of these, RF and microwave ablation are most commonly used worldwide.
During RF ablation, alternating electrical current (~500 kHz) produces resistive heating around the interstitial electrode. Skin surface electrodes (ground pads) are used to complete the electrical circuit. RF ablation has been in use for nearly 20 years, with good results for local tumor control, extended survival and low complication rates1,2. Recent studies suggest RF ablation may be a first-line treatment option for small hepatocellular carcinoma and renal-cell carcinoma3-5. However, RF heating is hampered by local blood flow and high electrical impedance tissues (eg, lung, bone, desiccated or charred tissue)6,7. Microwaves may alleviate some of these problems by producing faster, volumetric heating8-10. To create larger or conformal ablations, multiple microwave antennas can be used simultaneously while RF electrodes require sequential operation, which limits their efficiency. Early experiences with microwave systems suggest efficacy and safety similar to, or better than RF devices11-13.
Alternatively, cryoablation freezes the target tissues to lethal levels (-20 to -40 °C). Percutaneous cryoablation has been shown to be effective against RCC and many metastatic tumors, particularly colorectal cancer, in the liver14-16. Cryoablation may also be associated with less post-procedure pain and faster recovery for some indications17. Cryoablation is often contraindicated for primary liver cancer due to underlying coagulopathy and associated bleeding risks frequently seen in cirrhotic patients. In addition, sudden release of tumor cellular contents when the frozen tissue thaws can lead to a potentially serious condition known as cryoshock 16.
Thermal tumor ablation can be performed at open surgery, laparoscopy or using a percutaneous approach. When performed percutaneously, the ablation procedure relies on imaging for diagnosis, planning, applicator guidance, treatment monitoring and follow-up. Ultrasound is the most popular modality for guidance and treatment monitoring worldwide, but computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are commonly used as well. Contrast-enhanced CT or MRI are typically employed for diagnosis and follow-up imaging.

Breath-holding techniques reduce the amount of radiation received by cardiac structures during tangential-field left breast radiotherapy. With these techniques, patients hold their breath while radiotherapy is delivered, pushing the heart down and away from the radiotherapy field. Despite clear dosimetric benefits, these techniques are not yet in widespread use. One reason for this is that commercially available solutions require specialist equipment, necessitating not only significant capital investment, but often also incurring ongoing costs such as a need for daily disposable mouthpieces. The voluntary breath-hold technique described here does not require any additional specialist equipment. All breath-holding techniques require a surrogate to monitor breath-hold consistency and whether breath-hold is maintained. Voluntary breath-hold uses the distance moved by the anterior and lateral reference marks (tattoos) away from the treatment room lasers in breath-hold to monitor consistency at CT-planning and treatment setup. Light fields are then used to monitor breath-hold consistency prior to and during radiotherapy delivery.

Institutions: University of Southern California, University of California, San Francisco , University of California Irvine School of Medicine, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Psoriasis is a chronic, immune-mediated inflammatory skin disease affecting approximately 2-3% of the population. The Goeckerman regimen consists of exposure to ultraviolet B (UVB) light and application of crude coal tar (CCT). Goeckerman therapy is extremely effective and relatively safe for the treatment of psoriasis and for improving a patient's quality of life. In the following article, we present our protocol for the Goeckerman therapy that is utilized specifically at the University of California, San Francisco. This protocol details the preparation of supplies, administration of phototherapy and application of topical tar. This protocol also describes how to assess the patient daily, monitor for adverse effects (including pruritus and burning), and adjust the treatment based on the patient's response. Though it is one of the oldest therapies available for psoriasis, there is an absence of any published videos demonstrating the process in detail. The video is beneficial for healthcare providers who want to administer the therapy, for trainees who want to learn more about the process, and for prospective patients who want to undergo treatment for their cutaneous disease.

Cognitive impairments affect the majority of patients with schizophrenia and these impairments predict poor long term psychosocial outcomes. Treatment studies aimed at cognitive impairment in patients with schizophrenia not only require demonstration of improvements on cognitive tests, but also evidence that any cognitive changes lead to clinically meaningful improvements. Measures of “functional capacity” index the extent to which individuals have the potential to perform skills required for real world functioning. Current data do not support the recommendation of any single instrument for measurement of functional capacity. The Virtual Reality Functional Capacity Assessment Tool (VRFCAT) is a novel, interactive gaming based measure of functional capacity that uses a realistic simulated environment to recreate routine activities of daily living. Studies are currently underway to evaluate and establish the VRFCAT’s sensitivity, reliability, validity, and practicality. This new measure of functional capacity is practical, relevant, easy to use, and has several features that improve validity and sensitivity of measurement of function in clinical trials of patients with CNS disorders.

The majority of cancer-related deaths occur subsequent to the development of metastatic disease. This highly lethal disease stage is associated with the presence of circulating tumor cells (CTCs). These rare cells have been demonstrated to be of clinical significance in metastatic breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers. The current gold standard in clinical CTC detection and enumeration is the FDA-cleared CellSearch system (CSS). This manuscript outlines the standard protocol utilized by this platform as well as two additional adapted protocols that describe the detailed process of user-defined marker optimization for protein characterization of patient CTCs and a comparable protocol for CTC capture in very low volumes of blood, using standard CSS reagents, for studying in vivo preclinical mouse models of metastasis. In addition, differences in CTC quality between healthy donor blood spiked with cells from tissue culture versus patient blood samples are highlighted. Finally, several commonly discrepant items that can lead to CTC misclassification errors are outlined. Taken together, these protocols will provide a useful resource for users of this platform interested in preclinical and clinical research pertaining to metastasis and CTCs.

Institutions: University of California, Davis, University of California, Davis, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.

A preclinical model of invasive bladder cancer was developed in human mucin 1 (MUC1) transgenic (MUC1.Tg) mice for the purpose of evaluating immunotherapy and/or cytotoxic chemotherapy. To induce bladder cancer, C57BL/6 mice (MUC1.Tg and wild type) were treated orally with the carcinogen N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl)nitrosamine (OH-BBN) at 3.0 mg/day, 5 days/week for 12 weeks. To assess the effects of OH-BBN on serum cytokine profile during tumor development, whole blood was collected via submandibular bleeds prior to treatment and every four weeks. In addition, a MUC1-targeted peptide vaccine and placebo were administered to groups of mice weekly for eight weeks. Multiplex fluorometric microbead immunoanalyses of serum cytokines during tumor development and following vaccination were performed. At termination, interferon gamma (IFN-γ)/interleukin-4 (IL-4) ELISpot analysis for MUC1 specific T-cell immune response and histopathological evaluations of tumor type and grade were performed. The results showed that: (1) the incidence of bladder cancer in both MUC1.Tg and wild type mice was 67%; (2) transitional cell carcinomas (TCC) developed at a 2:1 ratio compared to squamous cell carcinomas (SCC); (3) inflammatory cytokines increased with time during tumor development; and (4) administration of the peptide vaccine induces a Th1-polarized serum cytokine profile and a MUC1 specific T-cell response. All tumors in MUC1.Tg mice were positive for MUC1 expression, and half of all tumors in MUC1.Tg and wild type mice were invasive. In conclusion, using a team approach through the coordination of the efforts of pharmacologists, immunologists, pathologists and molecular biologists, we have developed an immune intact transgenic mouse model of bladder cancer that expresses hMUC1.

Tumor Treating Field Therapy in Combination with Bevacizumab for the Treatment of Recurrent Glioblastoma

Authors: Ayman I. Omar.

Institutions: Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.

A novel device that employs TTF therapy has recently been developed and is currently in use for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma (rGBM). It was FDA approved in April 2011 for the treatment of patients 22 years or older with rGBM. The device delivers alternating electric fields and is programmed to ensure maximal tumor cell kill1.
Glioblastoma is the most common type of glioma and has an estimated incidence of approximately 10,000 new cases per year in the United States alone2. This tumor is particularly resistant to treatment and is uniformly fatal especially in the recurrent setting3-5. Prior to the approval of the TTF System, the only FDA approved treatment for rGBM was bevacizumab6. Bevacizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody targeted against the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) protein that drives tumor angiogenesis7. By blocking the VEGF pathway, bevacizumab can result in a significant radiographic response (pseudoresponse), improve progression free survival and reduce corticosteroid requirements in rGBM patients8,9. Bevacizumab however failed to prolong overall survival in a recent phase III trial26. A pivotal phase III trial (EF-11) demonstrated comparable overall survival between physicians’ choice chemotherapy and TTF Therapy but better quality of life were observed in the TTF arm10.
There is currently an unmet need to develop novel approaches designed to prolong overall survival and/or improve quality of life in this unfortunate patient population. One appealing approach would be to combine the two currently approved treatment modalities namely bevacizumab and TTF Therapy. These two treatments are currently approved as monotherapy11,12, but their combination has never been evaluated in a clinical trial. We have developed an approach for combining those two treatment modalities and treated 2 rGBM patients. Here we describe a detailed methodology outlining this novel treatment protocol and present representative data from one of the treated patients.

We demonstrate methods for the detection of architectural distortion in prior mammograms of interval-cancer cases based on analysis of the orientation of breast tissue patterns in mammograms. We hypothesize that architectural distortion modifies the normal orientation of breast tissue patterns in mammographic images before the formation of masses or tumors. In the initial steps of our methods, the oriented structures in a given mammogram are analyzed using Gabor filters and phase portraits to detect node-like sites of radiating or intersecting tissue patterns. Each detected site is then characterized using the node value, fractal dimension, and a measure of angular dispersion specifically designed to represent spiculating patterns associated with architectural distortion.
Our methods were tested with a database of 106 prior mammograms of 56 interval-cancer cases and 52 mammograms of 13 normal cases using the features developed for the characterization of architectural distortion, pattern classification via quadratic discriminant analysis, and validation with the leave-one-patient out procedure. According to the results of free-response receiver operating characteristic analysis, our methods have demonstrated the capability to detect architectural distortion in prior mammograms, taken 15 months (on the average) before clinical diagnosis of breast cancer, with a sensitivity of 80% at about five false positives per patient.

Institutions: University of North Carolina School of Medicine, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

Current astrocytoma models are limited in their ability to define the roles of oncogenic mutations in specific brain cell types during disease pathogenesis and their utility for preclinical drug development. In order to design a better model system for these applications, phenotypically wild-type cortical astrocytes and neural stem cells (NSC) from conditional, genetically engineered mice (GEM) that harbor various combinations of floxed oncogenic alleles were harvested and grown in culture. Genetic recombination was induced in vitro using adenoviral Cre-mediated recombination, resulting in expression of mutated oncogenes and deletion of tumor suppressor genes. The phenotypic consequences of these mutations were defined by measuring proliferation, transformation, and drug response in vitro. Orthotopic allograft models, whereby transformed cells are stereotactically injected into the brains of immune-competent, syngeneic littermates, were developed to define the role of oncogenic mutations and cell type on tumorigenesis in vivo. Unlike most established human glioblastoma cell line xenografts, injection of transformed GEM-derived cortical astrocytes into the brains of immune-competent littermates produced astrocytomas, including the most aggressive subtype, glioblastoma, that recapitulated the histopathological hallmarks of human astrocytomas, including diffuse invasion of normal brain parenchyma. Bioluminescence imaging of orthotopic allografts from transformed astrocytes engineered to express luciferase was utilized to monitor in vivo tumor growth over time. Thus, astrocytoma models using astrocytes and NSC harvested from GEM with conditional oncogenic alleles provide an integrated system to study the genetics and cell biology of astrocytoma pathogenesis in vitro and in vivo and may be useful in preclinical drug development for these devastating diseases.

The identification of molecules involved in tumor initiation and progression is fundamental for understanding disease’s biology and, as a consequence, for the clinical management of patients. In the present work we will describe an optimized proteomic approach for the identification of molecules involved in the progression of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL). In detail, leukemic cell lysates are resolved by 2-dimensional Electrophoresis (2DE) and visualized as “spots” on the 2DE gels. Comparative analysis of proteomic maps allows the identification of differentially expressed proteins (in terms of abundance and post-translational modifications) that are picked, isolated and identified by Mass Spectrometry (MS). The biological function of the identified candidates can be tested by different assays (i.e. migration, adhesion and F-actin polymerization), that we have optimized for primary leukemic cells.

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a psychiatric disorder characterized by a constant and unspecific anxiety that interferes with daily-life activities. Its high prevalence in general population and the severe limitations it causes, point out the necessity to find new efficient strategies to treat it. Together with the cognitive-behavioral treatments, relaxation represents a useful approach for the treatment of GAD, but it has the limitation that it is hard to be learned. The INTREPID project is aimed to implement a new instrument to treat anxiety-related disorders and to test its clinical efficacy in reducing anxiety-related symptoms. The innovation of this approach is the combination of virtual reality and biofeedback, so that the first one is directly modified by the output of the second one. In this way, the patient is made aware of his or her reactions through the modification of some features of the VR environment in real time. Using mental exercises the patient learns to control these physiological parameters and using the feedback provided by the virtual environment is able to gauge his or her success. The supplemental use of portable devices, such as PDA or smart-phones, allows the patient to perform at home, individually and autonomously, the same exercises experienced in therapist's office. The goal is to anchor the learned protocol in a real life context, so enhancing the patients' ability to deal with their symptoms. The expected result is a better and faster learning of relaxation techniques, and thus an increased effectiveness of the treatment if compared with traditional clinical protocols.

In this paper we present an automated system based mainly on the computed tomography (CT) images consisting of two main components: the midline shift estimation and intracranial pressure (ICP) pre-screening system. To estimate the midline shift, first an estimation of the ideal midline is performed based on the symmetry of the skull and anatomical features in the brain CT scan. Then, segmentation of the ventricles from the CT scan is performed and used as a guide for the identification of the actual midline through shape matching. These processes mimic the measuring process by physicians and have shown promising results in the evaluation. In the second component, more features are extracted related to ICP, such as the texture information, blood amount from CT scans and other recorded features, such as age, injury severity score to estimate the ICP are also incorporated. Machine learning techniques including feature selection and classification, such as Support Vector Machines (SVMs), are employed to build the prediction model using RapidMiner. The evaluation of the prediction shows potential usefulness of the model. The estimated ideal midline shift and predicted ICP levels may be used as a fast pre-screening step for physicians to make decisions, so as to recommend for or against invasive ICP monitoring.

This video describes the use of patient tissue as an ex vivo model for the study of gene delivery. Fresh patient tissue obtained at the time of surgery is sliced and maintained in culture. The ex vivo model system allows for the physical delivery of genes into intact patient tissue and gene expression is analysed by bioluminescence imaging using the IVIS detection system. The bioluminescent detection system demonstrates rapid and accurate quantification of gene expression within individual slices without the need for tissue sacrifice. This slice tissue culture system may be used in a variety of tissue types including normal and malignant tissue and allows us to study the effects of the heterogeneous nature of intact tissue and the high degree of variability between individual patients. This model system could be used in certain situations as an alternative to animal models and as a complementary preclinical mode prior to entering clinical trial.

Diabetes mellitus is a major independent risk factor for increased morbidity and mortality in the hospitalized patient, and elevated blood glucose concentrations, even in non-diabetic patients, predicts poor outcomes.1-4 The 2008 consensus statement by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) states that "hyperglycemia in hospitalized patients, irrespective of its cause, is unequivocally associated with adverse outcomes."5 It is important to recognize that hyperglycemia occurs in patients with known or undiagnosed diabetes as well as during acute illness in those with previously normal glucose tolerance.
The Normoglycemia in Intensive Care Evaluation-Survival Using Glucose Algorithm Regulation (NICE-SUGAR) study involved over six thousand adult intensive care unit (ICU) patients who were randomized to intensive glucose control or conventional glucose control.6 Surprisingly, this trial found that intensive glucose control increased the risk of mortality by 14% (odds ratio, 1.14; p=0.02). In addition, there was an increased prevalence of severe hypoglycemia in the intensive control group compared with the conventional control group (6.8% vs. 0.5%, respectively; p<0.001). From this pivotal trial and two others,7,8 Wyoming Medical Center (WMC) realized the importance of controlling hyperglycemia in the hospitalized patient while avoiding the negative impact of resultant hypoglycemia.
Despite multiple revisions of an IV insulin paper protocol, analysis of data from usage of the paper protocol at WMC shows that in terms of achieving normoglycemia while minimizing hypoglycemia, results were suboptimal. Therefore, through a systematical implementation plan, monitoring of patient blood glucose levels was switched from using a paper IV insulin protocol to a computerized glucose management system. By comparing blood glucose levels using the paper protocol to that of the computerized system, it was determined, that overall, the computerized glucose management system resulted in more rapid and tighter glucose control than the traditional paper protocol. Specifically, a substantial increase in the time spent within the target blood glucose concentration range, as well as a decrease in the prevalence of severe hypoglycemia (BG < 40 mg/dL), clinical hypoglycemia (BG < 70 mg/dL), and hyperglycemia (BG > 180 mg/dL), was witnessed in the first five months after implementation of the computerized glucose management system. The computerized system achieved target concentrations in greater than 75% of all readings while minimizing the risk of hypoglycemia. The prevalence of hypoglycemia (BG < 70 mg/dL) with the use of the computer glucose management system was well under 1%.

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In developing our video relationships, we compare around 5 million PubMed articles to our library of over 4,500 methods videos. In some cases the language used in the PubMed abstracts makes matching that content to a JoVE video difficult. In other cases, there happens not to be any content in our video library that is relevant to the topic of a given abstract. In these cases, our algorithms are trying their best to display videos with relevant content, which can sometimes result in matched videos with only a slight relation.